September 23rd, 2010 and I still want to think of it as summer rather than the first day of fall. The leaves here in metro Detroit are just starting to turn and sporadic pumpkins start to appear on porches.
At work today I grabbed my phone to call my husband Bill to ask a quick favor while he was out and about. When he answered I could hear the wind noise and he told me he was in Ohio. On the bike.
Though I was happy, I was JEALOUS!! With no destination, he was out exploring northern Ohio, taking the back roads. It was a warm day for late September, reaching close to 90 degrees in some areas, and here I was my frigid air conditioned office, eyes going buggy from reading resumes. I told him to ride safe and bring back lots of pics.
Hours later we went for dinner at Hayden’s Grill and Bar, which just opened in Canton. NICE place, very slick, contemporary decor. Pretty broad selection on their menu, and reasonable.
After we ordered, Bill shared with me his day today on the road, which went from Michigan Avenue to 94 to 23 south to Exit 9, for Summerfield Rd. He then continued west, then curved north and got lost in the rural heaven of the farms and cornfields. Summerfield Rd. took him back to 23 where went south to 20. There is one picture he brought back, which I love, and I can’t wait to go see this for myself. I could not get over the size and the creepiness of this one barn, which he said was somewhere south of 20 in Ohio. I’d never seen a barn this huge, which looked like two large barns connected to form this gigantic, old wooden structure.
Speaking of creepiness, I was intrigued by a particular part of his story, a small town he rode through by the name of Fayette. All the houses were older, and he described a “Twilight Zone” feeling as he approached, like time had stopped. Riding through what’s considered town, which included an IGA grocery store, there was a group of people standing together on the sidewalk, silently staring at him as he rode by. He described them as pale, almost sick looking, like something out of a movie. It takes a lot to rattle my husband, and he told me he wanted nothing more than to get out of that town, and not put his kickstand down for anything.
I can’t wait for the next full day to get out and ride and I’m so excited for the upcoming fall riding season. The best of fall is yet to come, the color change, the cider mills, the haunted houses. Though I wasn’t able to join him today, I’m glad Bill got out to welcome the first day of Fall on the back roads.